About Us

Phyllis Mondak

Where were you born and how long have you lived in Richmond? Does your family live here?

I was born in Maryland, just outside of Washington, D. C. We moved to California when I was three and back to the East Coast (outside Philadelphia) when I was thirteen. I have also lived in the Chicago area, Boston, Nashville, and several places in Virginia. I moved to Richmond in the early 1990s with my two children. My oldest son now lives in Richmond (Chesterfield) with his family. My other son is in New York City. You may see my Richmond son in the store periodically, along with my husband doing the handyman duties.

How long have you been sewing?

I have been sewing since I was 10. I took a sewing class as a summer activity.

What was the first thing you made?

I think it was a dress for my Barbie. For the sewing class it was some clothing for me.

What is your favorite needle art? Hand or machine?

I love doing it all. I like machine sewing complicated projects. I like having a small hand project going to be able to take with me or do at a meeting/conference session or in front of the TV.

What is your favorite color?

Teals/turquoise/aqua/navy – all shades, values, hues.

What color do you have the most trouble using in projects?

I think colors that look muddy and reproduction print browns/greens.

What inspires you?

I am a breast cancer survivor, so waking up in the morning is a gift. Watching the seasons change, the colors that change with them inspires me. I get inspired by my husband, children and grandchildren; their curiosity, laughter, questions, stories they tell me, and their love.

What is your favorite book?

I just love reading. Being able to go somewhere else – real or fictional, meet other people, laugh or cry from good writing. Favorite authors include Pat Conroy, Charlaine Harris, Madeline L’Engle, Ann McCaffery, and Wally Lamb.

What is your favorite movie?

The Wizard of OZ. I love musicals too. I also love animated movies to watch with the grands – Up, Despicable Me, How to Train Your Dragon(love the sound track), etc.

Phyllis and her husband (David Martinez)

All of our kids and grands.

Maggie and Andrew, Daniel and Charlye (my boys with their others)

Keith and Kristin(Dave's children) with Kristin's children - Sydney, Kaley, and Wayne.

Maureen AndersonWhere were you born and how long have you lived in Richmond? Does your family live here?

I was born in NYC and have lived in Richmond since 1991.

How long have you been sewing?

I have been hand sewing since 1963 and machine sewing since 1970.

What is the first thing you made?

The first thing I made by machine was a cute jumper. The fabric was navy blue with pretty white daisies.

What is your favorite needle art? Hand or machine?

This is like asking me to pick a favorite child. :-) All of them! I love to whip stitch the bindings on my quilts, which I prefer to piece by machine. I have hand quilted and enjoy that when I have the time. I also crochet and am learning to knit. I have dabbled in felting and look forward to doing more of that. It has been years since I have embroidered. I see myself picking up one of those sweet kits that we have to make embroidered felt Christmas ornaments. That is definitely in my near future.

What are your favorite colors?

Purple, blue, green, red.

What color do you have the most trouble using in your projects?

Yellow & orange. That is until recently. I took the accidental landscapes class with Phoebe. Using batiks (my favorite), I made a beautiful scene of the sun setting behind purple mountains. It is stunning.

What inspires you?

At the risk of sounding biased, working in the shop is extremely inspiring. It is pure joy to be in a bright place that is absolutely loaded with tons of fabric, colors, notions, ideas, creative customers, patterns, books, and magazines full of novel ideas. Sometimes inspiration is most overwhelming when two different ideas converge and present a picture of something fabulous. Like the time I saw the Picture Perfect pattern and thought it was okay, but not for me. Then two weeks later, we received the Matisse pictorial fabric. Suddenly, the shivers start up and down my body and I just knew that this fabric was perfect for this pattern and this pattern was perfect for this fabric. I absolutely had to make that quilt. I did. And I am very happy with the results.

Favorite book?

Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. It is the only book that, the morning after the night I finished it, I picked it up and started to devour it again.

Favorite movie?

You are asking me about my favorite kid again :-) Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, Life is Beautiful, Leaving Sarah Marshall, Castaway, Big, Pulp Fiction, Schindler’s List.

Favorite type of music?

Under different circumstances, different types of music would be my choice. I have a wide range of tastes for music. Happy music. Soothing music. Energizing music. Show music. Old-timey music. Folk, rock, jazz, swing, reggae, ballads. Even kid tunes and toddler tunes are amusing and fun.